Strength Training Does Not Make You Slow
Within military culture, there is a persistent belief that lifting heavy weights will make a soldier slower. Many people will avoid structured strength training because they worry about becoming bulky, stiff, or losing endurance.
Instead, they prioritise long runs, circuits, and bodyweight sessions in the hope of preserving their speed and stamina.
The intention is understandable, but hope is not a strategy. Military roles demand endurance, mobility, and the ability to move efficiently under load. However, the belief that strength training undermines these qualities is based on a misunderstanding of how physical performance actually works.
In reality, properly programmed strength training is one of the most effective ways to improve speed, endurance, and durability.
The key lies in understanding the role of force production, movement economy, and tissue resilience.
Performance Begins With Force Production
Every physical movement begins with force.
When you run, sprint, jump, climb, or carry equipment, your body must apply force into the ground. The ground then returns that force back through the body, allowing you to propel yourself forward.
The more force you can absorb and produce relative to your bodyweight, the more efficiently you can move.
Strength training improves the muscles and movement patterns responsible for producing this force. When the hips, glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps become stronger, each step becomes more powerful.
This does not necessarily mean that you take bigger strides or expend more energy. Instead, it means that each stride requires less relative effort.
For example:
- A weaker athlete may need to operate close to their maximum effort simply to maintain a steady pace.
- A stronger athlete can produce the same output while working at a lower percentage of their maximum capacity.
This difference becomes particularly important during long runs, loaded marches, and tactical tasks where fatigue accumulates over time.
A stronger body is simply far more economical.
Strength Improves Running Economy
Running economy refers to how efficiently a person uses energy while running at a given pace.
Research consistently shows that stronger athletes demonstrate better running economy. This means they require less oxygen and less metabolic effort to maintain the same speed.
Strength training contributes to this improvement in several ways:
-
Improved force application
Stronger muscles apply force into the ground more effectively, reducing wasted movement. -
Reduced ground contact time
Increased strength allows the body to transition through each step more rapidly. -
Better posture and stability
Stronger hips and core muscles help maintain efficient running mechanics over long distances.
In applicable terms, this means a stronger soldier can maintain pace with less perceived effort and is more resistant to fatigue during prolonged activity than a weaker soldier.
Tendon Stiffness and Energy Return
Muscles are only part of the equation of propulsion and energy conservation.
Tendons act like springs within the body. When the foot contacts the ground, tendons store elastic energy and then release it during the push-off phase of movement.
Stronger tendons are able to store and release more energy efficiently. This improves movement efficiency and reduces energy loss during repetitive actions such as running or marching.
Strength training stimulates adaptations within these connective tissues, gradually increasing their stiffness and resilience.
This results in:
- Better sprinting ability
- Improved jumping and climbing performance
- More efficient running mechanics
- Reduced injury risk
These changes occur slowly and need respect when it comes to training progression. Tendons adapt at a much slower rate than muscles, often taking several months to strengthen significantly, even without any underlying injury. However, once developed, these adaptations provide substantial performance benefits.
Neuromuscular Coordination
Strength training also improves the communication between the nervous system and the muscles.
This process is known as neuromuscular adaptation.
When a person first begins lifting weights, improvements in strength often occur before significant muscle growth. This is because the nervous system becomes more efficient at recruiting muscle fibres and coordinating movement patterns.
Improved neuromuscular coordination leads to:
- Faster reaction times
- Better balance and stability
- More powerful acceleration
- More efficient movement patterns
These adaptations directly translate to improved performance in military tasks such as sprinting, climbing obstacles, carrying equipment, and changing direction quickly.
Strength Reduces Injury Risk
One of the most overlooked benefits of strength training is its role in injury prevention.
Military populations experience high rates of overuse injuries, particularly in the lower limbs, such as:
- Shin splints
- Stress fractures
- Patellar tendon pain
- Achilles tendon injuries
- Hip and lower back pain
Many of these injuries occur because tissues are repeatedly exposed to loads they are not strong enough to tolerate.
'The demand placed on the tissues/structures exceeds their capacity'
Strength training increases the capacity of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones to handle stress. As a result, the body becomes more resilient to the repetitive loading that occurs during running, tabbing, and field exercises.
This resilience is critical in military environments where training volumes can increase rapidly, and recovery opportunities are often limited.
A stronger body is not only faster, but it is also far more durable and less likely to 'fail' during exercises and training.
The Bulking Myth
The fear of becoming excessively bulky from strength training is largely unfounded for most soldiers.
Significant muscle hypertrophy requires:
- High training volumes
- Specific bodybuilding-style programming
- Large caloric surpluses
- Long periods of recovery
Military personnel rarely train under these conditions. Operational demands, conditioning work, and daily physical activity make large increases in muscle mass unlikely.
Instead, most soldiers experience improvements in relative strength - the ability to produce more force without large increases in bodyweight.
This type of strength is highly beneficial for tactical performance.
Strength and Endurance Are Not Opposites
Another misconception is that strength and endurance exist at opposite ends of a spectrum.
In reality, the two qualities complement one another when programmed intelligently.
Strength provides the foundation for endurance. The stronger your muscles are, the lower the relative intensity of each movement becomes.
For example:
|
Task |
Weaker Athlete |
Stronger Athlete |
|
Carrying a 30 kg pack |
Near maximal effort |
Moderate effort |
|
Running at 5 min/km pace |
High fatigue accumulation |
Sustainable pace |
|
Climbing obstacles |
High muscular strain |
Efficient movement |
Because the stronger athlete operates further from their maximum capacity, fatigue accumulates more slowly.
This is why well-trained endurance athletes frequently include structured strength training within their programmes.
The Importance of Programming
While strength training offers significant benefits, the way it is programmed matters.
Poorly designed programmes that involve excessive volume or constant muscle fatigue can interfere with endurance training and recovery.
The goal is not to exhaust the body with endless gym sessions. Instead, strength training should focus on developing high-quality force production.
Two simple principles help ensure strength training supports rather than hinders endurance.
1. Focus on Compound Movements
Compound exercises train multiple muscle groups and movement patterns simultaneously. These movements will ultimately most closely resemble the physical demands encountered during military roles - but also: They develop coordination between muscle groups, improve trunk stability and force transfer, train movement patterns rather than individual muscles, and they're time efficient.
Key exercises include:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Lunges and other unilateral movements
- Upper body pressing and pulling
- Loaded carries
These movements strengthen the hips, legs, and trunk in ways that directly transfer to running, climbing, and moving under load.
2. Prioritise Quality Over Volume
Strength training does not need to involve endless sets and exercises. If anything, due to multiple performance facets being trained simultaneously, the volume needs to be carefully managed and pretty much just hit a 'minimal effective dose' approach.
A small number of high-quality sets performed with good technique is often sufficient to stimulate strength adaptations without creating excessive fatigue.
Typical sessions may involve:
- 3-5 sets per exercise
- Moderate to heavy loads
- Full recovery between sets
This approach develops strength while preserving energy for running, conditioning, and other training.
Integrating Strength and Conditioning
The most effective training programmes do not treat strength and endurance as separate systems.
Instead, they integrate the two qualities so that they complement each other.
A balanced programme typically includes:
- Strength training to develop force production
- Running and non-loaded conditioning to build aerobic capacity
- Load carriage training to prepare for operational demands
- Mobility work to maintain joint health and movement quality
When these elements are combined intelligently, the result is a soldier who is not only faster but also stronger, more resilient, and better prepared for real-world tasks.
Strength Is a Performance Multiplier For Our Community
At its core, strength training enhances efficiency.
A stronger athlete can produce the same movement output with less effort. This allows them to move faster, sustain performance for longer, and recover more effectively between efforts.
Rather than slowing a soldier down, strength training acts as a performance multiplier.
It improves running economy, increases power, strengthens connective tissues, and reduces injury risk.
These benefits accumulate over time, producing a more capable and durable athlete.
Conclusion
The belief that strength training makes soldiers slow is a myth rooted in outdated training ideas and just needs to die a death in 2026.
In reality, strength is the foundation of speed, endurance, and resilience.
When programmed properly, strength training improves running economy, enhances force production, strengthens connective tissues, and reduces injury risk. These adaptations allow soldiers to move faster, carry heavier loads more efficiently, and sustain performance during prolonged activity.
Strength training does not make you slow. It makes you more capable and durable.
